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Dinner - The Polyphonic Food Blog


JPW

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Not too many everyday dinners to report lately, but I did get really inspired a few weekends ago to make homemade chicken stock (which I'd never done before). Using Tom Colicchio's recipe from "Think Like A Chef," I first made white chicken stock, which I then turned into brown chicken stock. The flavors were really great--it will be hard to use store-bought stock now!

Last weekend, for my parents' birthdays, I used the chicken stock to make Carrot and Fennel soup (from an old Gourmet magazine), which was delicious. It didn't come out as smooth as I would prefer (I need an immersion blender), but the flavors were clean and lovely. Roasting the veggies made my kitchen smell yummy, too!

I also made braised lamb shoulder (from an old Bon Appetit magazine), which took about 2 days to do, but which was totally worth it. The meat was SO tender, and the pan gravy was awesome. It was like lamb pot roast--very warm and comforting.

Oh, and Zora--I'm going to San Antonio this weekend, so I'm sure I'll have a chance to try REAL, homemade, fresh corn tortillas. I'll let you know how it goes. :lol:

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The Volcanique from Verdier-Logel rocks!! They do make another Forez that Bassin's used to sell, but the Volcqanique is the more terroir driven of the two. 100% Gamay from the Loire and grown in some of the highest vineyards in all of France. Another Addis winner. I order a case through Riley and I think he now carries in on the shelf.

I am assuming that the Volcanique I drank the other night is a 2007. It might be 2006. there is no vintage date on the label. I bought it at Arrowine yesterday. The last time I bought it, maybe a year ago or more, it was $9.99 a bottle and it has gone up $3 a bottle. I really like cru beaujolais with roast chicken and the way prices have been going up for good beaujolais this gamay is still a bargain even at $12.99 a bottle. I'll probably go to Ace Bev when I want to get some more.

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Ginger carrot soup*

Whole grain toast with Kerrygold butter

Evolution "American White Wine," Oregon**

*Why oh why am I destined to, every year, every single year, try to puree the season's first soup in the food processor and not the blender like I should and wind up making a mess of my kitchen, machine, and every other thing in the immediate vicinity? It's like there's a little part of my brain that enjoys laughing at the rest of my brain's inability to learn anything, ever.

Tasted good though.

**Love this stuff

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Last night was a quick pizza, with shallots and mild and hot Italian sausage. I used a bag of refrigerated Trader Joe's pizza dough, which I hadn't tried before. It seemed a bit too sticky and I didn't get it rolled out properly. I thought it was a bit too bready last night, but it's better leftover.

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Italian sausage over oven-cooked polenta*

Roasted wedges of radicchio, one w Gorgonzola

Roasted carrots

Herbal tea w honey and lots of Meyer lemon juice :lol:

Home-made, organic, crystallized, local ginger

*Whole Foods on P Street still carries the yellow corn grits in bulk. Not sure why neither Silver Spring nor Tenleytown doesn't, but I'm happy. And while Buford would not approve, I absolutely adore this effortless way of making polenta!

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Herb-brined Eco-Friendly chicken, spatchcocked (I love that word) and oven roasted over

Bermuda onion wedges, fingerling potatoes, purple cauliflower

roasted carnival squash halves with butter and honey

sauteed chanterelles with creme fraiche, fresh herbs and Meyer lemon zest

2006 Ch. Thivin Cotes de Brouilly

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One of the nicest things about a major head cold is you can be resourceful in throwing together leftovers without worrying about how it all will taste.

Onion sautéed w two carrots. Garlic clove. 2 scallions. A cooked sausage. The rest of a head of frisée, chopped up, rinsed thoroughly and tossed in to wilt. Smelly remnants of potato-Romanesco gratin blotted, sliced.

After it's heated through, caramelized, liquids reduced, a spoonful of sour cream.

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Curry chicken salad (garlic mayo, dark mustard, red curry powder, onion, raisins*, walnuts**)

Whole grain toast

*With the inevitable post-Thanksgiving curry turkey salad, I omit the raisins and stir in a spoonful of leftover cranberry sauce, which I prefer for its tartness.

**Should've toasted them! Rookie mistake!

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Cup of three-lentil soup w roasted, local chestnuts

Mushrooms on broiled polenta

Salad of frisée w avocado and shallot vinaigrette

Royal trumpet mushrooms and a handful of chanterelles prepared by adapting recipe of Susan Herrmann Loomis: boiled on high heat in saucepan w white wine until latter evaporates, juices exuded, then reabsorbed. Butter and chopped shallots. Meyer lemon juice. Seasoning. Creme fraiche, heavy cream and Parmesan.

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Roasted stuffed pumpkin

Pan-fried pork chops topped with with sauerkraut

The stuffing was the crumbled remainder of a vegetable cake (green beans, carrots, olives, and sun-dried tomatoes) I had made several days before, moistened with a little butter and some chicken broth. It came out wonderfully.

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good eats tonight:

Herb brined oven-roasted Eco-Friendly chicken, so much more tender and juicy than last week's chicken, which must have been doing a lot of aerobic exercise.

Puree of golden cauliflower and celery root*

Haricots verts with roasted red pepper, roasted garlic and lemon

2006 La Volcanique Cotes du Forez

*This was a particularly felicitous combination. I stewed equal amounts of cubed celery root and golden cauliflower florets together with a small onion in water until everything was soft. then I drained and pureed it in the Cuisinart with some butter, creme fraiche, whole milk yogurt, salt and white pepper until it was completely smooth. It was sweeter and more refined and with greater depth of flavor and complexity than a combination of either veg with potato. I encourage everyone to try this sometime as a side instead of mashed potatoes. Also, with the golden cauliflower, there is the bonus of beautiful color as well.

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Wednesday: roasted salmon with lentils, in an insanely good sauce (mustard, red wine vinegar, olive oil, garlic, parsley, and leftover lentil cooking liquid).

Last night: homemade gnocchi!!! First time ever, they came out really nice. I didn't make a homemade sauce to go with them, though--next time.

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Last night:

kiritanpo_nabe.JPG

Kiritanpo nabe -- kiritanpo (dumplings made of cooked, pounded rice), chicken thigh, maitake mushrooms, seri (Japanese parsley), carrot, and shirataki (noodles made from devil's tongue jelly) stewed in a dashi/soy sauce/sake stock.

Steamed rice

Tonight, we're having leftover nabe and steamed rice alongside some awamori (sort of like Okinawan shochu).

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Last night:

shrimp and grits with andouille and tasso--my attempt at a wonderful version of the dish that we ate while we were in Savannah. Like a shrimp gumbo served over stone ground grits. I think that I didn't get the brown roux quite dark enough. I was afraid that it would burn. But it was delicious nonetheless.

braised kale

2006 Don Olegario Albariño

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Roasted salmon fillet with maple-soy glaze

Mashed sweet potatoes with butter and brown sugar

Steamed baby rainbow chard with balsamic vinegar and black pepper

The salmon was from Costco, and they have cut back on the size of the pieces they sell. The prices per package are slightly less now than they would have been, but the pieces seem substantially smaller for the price. Has anyone else noticed this? I don't really mind the smaller pieces, so much as what seems to be an elevated price.

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Mixed green salad with balsamic vinaigrette

Gnocchi with bolognese

Garlic bread

Chocolate cinammon brownies

Too much wine to recall what we drank

My third set of dinner guests in 10 days -- I'm just loving having people to cook for again. That most of my classmates can barely boil water and therefore truly love a homecooked meal where nothing is from a box or jar is an added bonus. Added bonus are the containers of sauce now happily waiting for me in the freezer.

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That's a beautiful salad, Monavano.

I wrapped leftovers in large flour tortillas last night. The first few (salmon and sweet potato) I wrapped up burrito-style; the rest were soft tacos (beef, scallions, and cilantro). The tortillas were from Canales Deli at Eastern Market. I like their flour tortillas quite a bit.

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Shellfish Extravaganza with the Dentes. Had the in-laws over last night.

Started with seared monster scallops in brown butter sauce. This turned out excellent mostly due to the exceptionally fresh scallops scored from Kentlands Whole Foods.

Next up, a salad of baby arugula, roasted beets, and Allegheny goat cheese. I made vinaigrette with Banyuls and some Herbes du Provence with lavender.

Then I steamed up some littlenecks (from Slavin’s) with white wine, a ton of garlic, and some pancetta. The juice was eagerly sopped up with crusty bread.

Lastly, a sort of riff on Fra Diavolo—sliced garlic sautéed in lotsa EVOO, a small can of fire-roasted tomatoes (I love that stuff), red pepper flakes, and pimienton. When it simmered I threw in shrimp (also Slavin’s) for a minute and tossed it with linguine. Wow, this was good if I do say so my own damn self. Not bad for an amateur making shit up.

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Roasted winter vegetable soup (hubbard squash, cauliflower, celeriac, carrot, parsnip, leek, onion, garlic, fuyu persimmon)

with creme fraiche and Meyer lemon

roasted cippolini onions marinated in balsamic vinegar

Trader Joe's fava beans marinated with balsamic and EVO, piquillo peppers, green onions and fresh herbs

Spanish sheepmilk cheese

Marvy Market striata

Magic Hat Fat Angel

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Roasted acorn squash with egg, sage, pecorino

Salad of mixed field greens, Comice pear, golden raisins, pistachios, pecorino, and pear balsamic vinaigrette

The squash recipe came from Frank Ruta, as printed in The Washington Post several years ago. The squash are halved, scooped out, roasted, seasoned, and popped back in the oven with an egg in each, until the egg is a little set but still runny, then the cheese is added.

I wish the Post would print more recipes from Frank Ruta. Or that he would write a cookbook. Or something. <swoon>

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Maitake risotto

Roasted delicata squash w soft-baked egg, sheep's milk cheese (Stoneyman & Locatelli) & sage

Slice of sourdough toast

Salad of erba stella, radicchio & bacon w shallot vinaigrette

Pear roasted in red wine sauce, chilled, w creme fraiche

Porc, your description of the acorn squash sounded so good, but wasn't sure what to do w the sage. Ended up making a sage butter for roasting. Didn't have the patience to deep-fry battered leaves, though those might have been nice to dip into the yolk.

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